Georgia insurance agent wows on ‘American Idol’ — with Philmon Lee

A breakout appearance on “American Idol” is turning Philmon Lee’s lifelong dream into an unexpected second chance.

A Georgia insurance agent by day, Lee, 26, grew up in a house filled with music. He was on his way to a recording and performing career of his own when the COVID-19 pandemic wrecked those plans.

“A lot of the process of me making music and putting down music videos, and the whole shebang just got put on pause,” Lee told InsuranceNewsNet. “And it was kind of hard to get it going again.”

Then “American Idol” came calling. Although he was delayed in getting his chance on the show, once he started performing, Lee quickly won over viewers. 

He didn’t win the coveted competition, but a top 11 finish is opening a lot of doors for Lee in the music industry. Still, the agent with Burns Marketing in LaGrange, Ga., isn’t moving on from the insurance world just yet.

“I do enjoy insurance, and I love the whole process,” Lee said. “Hopefully, I can get my team built up big enough to where I can pursue my first dream and still have a successful insurance business.”

‘That’s what I want to do’

From as early as 4 years old, Lee remembers touring with his father, who enjoyed some local success as a member of The Georgia Melody Boys.

“I grew up in a household of music,” Lee said. “My dad has always been a singer. I was on a tour bus with him when I was little. He turned to gospel singing, and then he started performing Southern rock and roll, and I got a lot of input from him.”

He learned to play piano, guitar and drums at a young age. Starting around age 10, Lee began singing in the school chorus and in other school vocal groups.

“It definitely gave me a hunger,” Lee said during an “American Idol” interview. “Even as a kid, it was ‘That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.’”

After high school, Lee went to college, but it was a short stay. He would trade books and classes for the hustle of making music while trying to get noticed.

“I knew I had to buckle down and really take it seriously,” Lee said on the “Bringin’ it Backwards” podcast.

Over the next several months, Lee worked on a few songs with a musician he met in college. Then he met a pair of rap artists from LaGrange, and the three worked on music for “six, seven months,” Lee said.

“I was making as much music as I could and doing as many shows as I could,” Lee said.

Getting a record deal

After months of “grinding,” Lee attracted the attention of record labels. Specifically, video of a Lee performance made its way to Tyshawn “Fly Ty” Johnson, Atlanta-based vice president of A&R at Epic Records and CEO of his own label, Against Da Grain Entertainment.

He put Lee in touch with Sony Music executives, and Lee was soon on a plane to California. He would sign a deal with the label in 2020. The label set Lee up with professional songwriters, and they worked on several songs.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic stopped Lee’s momentum cold. After recording songs and shooting a pair of videos, things ground to a halt. Months turned into years, and Lee continued working on his music and performing — all while under his Sony contract.

But his talent was still getting noticed. When an “American Idol” producer first reached out, the Sony contractual terms prevented Lee from pursuing the opportunity.

“Six months went by and he reached back out, and I decided I might as well give it a shot,” Lee recalled.

The “American Idol” tryout experience is a multitiered, months-long gauntlet in which contestants must pass through several rounds of screening by producers before ever seeing the celebrity judges.

Although the television episodes make the process look instant, the real-world experience is a grueling test of patience, personality and vocal endurance. Being a known quantity did not exempt Lee from that experience. He first sang on Zoom calls for producers, then advanced to a live audition in Nashville.

A musical thrill ride

Lee kept impressing new judges with each round, relying on his eclectic range of musical styles. He describes his musical influences as “all over the place,” from gospel to rock and roll bands such as Aerosmith and Lynard Skynyrd. He has a tattoo of Elvis Presley on his left forearm.

After wowing enough people with his vocal pipes, Lee found himself in Los Angeles taping “American Idol” before judges Carrie Underwood, Lionel Ritchie and Luke Bryan.

For his on-camera audition, Lee delivered a powerful performance of Michael Bolton’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.” The judges were unanimous in praising the performance.

“You look like you were born to sing,” Bryan said. “When we get somebody like you, it’s pretty dang exciting.”

As the weeks went by, Lee won over judges and the voting audience for 10 shows. His favorite performance came in week eight: a rendition of the Otis Redding song “Hard to Handle,” made famous in the 1990s by the rock band the Black Crowes.

While “American Idol” airs as a tight two hours, many multiples of those hours go into the behind-the-scenes production, Lee said.

“It’s a lot of hurry up and wait, man,” Lee said. “Sometimes you get up a little bit later, like 8 or 9 o’clock,  but you just go and you sit at the studio all day and you do wardrobe, or you do vocal coaching or you do band run-through. There’s always something to do.”

Lee was eliminated on April 13, during the Top 11 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Night, after performing “Hot Blooded” by Foreigner. Following his elimination, he returned for a final appearance to perform alongside Shinedown during the May season finale.

His departure was not without controversy. Social media platforms were flooded with thousands of comments from outraged viewers claiming that Lee was “robbed.”

Much of the controversy centered around the show’s voting format. Viewers across the country complained that the East Coast-biased live voting window closed too quickly, preventing many fans in later time zones from even watching the performances before voting ended.

Lee remained steadfastly positive on the experience.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “You meet a lot of cool people. I’ve made a lot of close friends who I’ll probably talk to for the rest of my life.”

Returning to the day job

The Burns Marketing Group was all in on supporting Lee’s “American Idol” adventure, said Nick Burns.

“We are incredibly proud of Philmon — not just for what he accomplished on the ‘American Idol’ stage, but for who he is every single day,” Burns said. “Philmon brings heart, humility and dedication to his work serving clients, and that same authenticity shines through in his music.

“Watching him pursue his passion while staying grounded in service to others has been inspiring for our entire organization. He represents the very best of our agency, and we’re honored to support him on this journey.”

Founded in 2010 by Nick Burns, the firm specializes in providing life insurance, final expense, and mortgage protection options across multiple states. The agency fields a network of agents, and a late-2025 partnership with Integrity is expected to scale its nationwide insurance distribution.

Since his time on “American Idol” ended, Lee is back selling insurance at Burns and back to making music. But new and exciting opportunities await.

“A lot of different meetings are about to be taken,” he said. “Live show opportunities and possible tour opportunities. My manager’s phone is blowing up.”

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.